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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23593030">Maybe I'm not ok (and maybe that's ok)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicePlaceToBe/pseuds/NicePlaceToBe'>NicePlaceToBe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Kiss, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, because no one needs more sad vibes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:47:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,445</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23593030</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicePlaceToBe/pseuds/NicePlaceToBe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Harley is getting pictures and notes in his locker from a secret admirer, and he's torn because on one hand, they're very sweet but on the other, he is very much in love with Peter Parker who has no interest in him. </p><p>Or:<br/>When Harley Keener moves to New York to live with Tony Stark, he doesn't know what he expects. But it's definitely not Peter Parker.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harley Keener/Peter Parker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>333</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Maybe I'm not ok (and maybe that's ok)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first fanfic for this pairing so let me know what you think! Characterisation, plot points, writing style, whatever! Comments and kudos are awesome and tell me whether I'm doing alright or not!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harley Keener wished he could say with absolute certainty that he was ok. But he wasn’t. Not in the way that everyone else seemed to be ok- because they laughed and smiled and looked forward to things and got excited; they lived.</p><p> </p><p> Harley…. Harley survived. There isn’t really another way to describe it. He found himself drifting amidst everything that was happening, he didn’t really get excited for another day at school. Harley was tired- so tired. But every day, he opened his eyes, he breathed, and he got up. He just had to keep doing that- because every step he took, every gulp of air he pulled into his lungs was one he would never have to take again. <em>Just keep breathing. </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>(Because he doesn’t know what would happen if he stopped)</p><p> </p><p>It was a shadow kind of existence; it was a shitty way to feel. Harley knew that. He couldn’t change it. All he could tell himself was that one day, he would get out of this place; out of this tiny town that couldn’t handle him, that didn’t offer him anything.</p><p> </p><p> Harley Keener would be something, of that he was certain. Because if there was one thing Harley knew without a doubt, it was that there was a future outside of Rose Hill that was his for the taking.</p><p> </p><p>---------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Peter Parker wished there was a way he could make everyone stop worrying about whether he was ok. He was fine, everything was fine because it had to be.</p><p> </p><p>Peter put up a pretty neat front- all A’s and stellar recommendations from his teachers, close friends who would die for him and a loving aunt that he adored. Anyone watching Peter Parker might notice some bullies or an absence of male role models, but they could be easily fooled into thinking he was ok.</p><p> </p><p>Peter was good at pretending sometimes- pretending that he could miss just that one meal so May could eat when she got home from work, pretending he wasn’t about one minute away from a mental breakdown, pretending that nothing bothered him and he wasn’t eaten away every second by guilt.</p><p> </p><p>Peter Parker probably wasn’t ok. Not by a long shot. But <em>fake it until you make it right?</em></p><p> </p><p>So he grinned every second through the pain and when it didn’t hurt, he laughed and tried to hold onto that feeling.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t enough.</p><p> </p><p>(Not to keep away the thoughts of Ben, dying in his arms and telling him to be better, that <em>with great power comes great responsibility. </em></p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t have known what that would mean to Peter- Ben surely couldn’t have meant any more by it than Peter using his status as a white male to fight oppression through understanding and awareness, to vote and accept others and be a good person. Ben couldn’t have known he flamed the fires to encourage his barely teenage nephew to become a vigilante on the streets of New York.</p><p> </p><p>Try as Peter might, he couldn’t forget his uncle’s words. So he got a suit, he designed his web formula and he figured out how to make it all work around school and May.)</p><p> </p><p>From that first moment Peter swung through the air he knew he would never really be ok. Not the way that everyone who asked would mean. Peter would be making a difference and risking his life and making his uncle proud.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe they were right to worry about Peter Parker. But Peter took his future into his own hands, and maybe he would find a new way to be ok.</p><p> </p><p>---------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Tony Stark had never really been asked if he was ok. It was always assumed that he would get back up and keep fighting because that’s what heroes do- and even before that because ‘that’s what Stark men do’.</p><p> </p><p>He’s pretty sure the first time Rhodey asked him whether he was alright he stopped breathing in surprise and when Pepper asked him for the first time in their relationship, he just about cried right then and there (to be fair, he hadn’t slept for about a week because she had been gone on Stark Industries business and hadn’t left the lab and didn’t drink water the entire time). Happy never really asked for an in-depth response but whenever Tony answered ‘no’, a trip was made and cheeseburgers were acquired.</p><p> </p><p>Tony Stark has lived his entire life not being ok, and he’s learning now how to make it happen.</p><p> </p><p>And it’s turning out- actually kind of great. He’s got a gorgeous wife, close friends and an intern who he loves (<em>he’s not my son Rhodey- </em>but dammit if he didn’t think of him as one). So Tony is ok, and he wants to make sure the people he loves are too.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>So when Harley Keener- the kid from Tennessee whose garage he crashed into and had kept in touch with because he was <em>going places</em> and god help anyone who thought Tony wasn’t going to help him get there- on their fortnightly call told him that he was bored in all his classes, Tony didn’t hesitate.</p><p> </p><p>“Come to New York,”</p><p> </p><p>Harley was surprised- he’d always thought he’d leave Rose Hill, but not so soon.</p><p> </p><p> “What? Are you going senile, old man? What would I do in New York?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m serious. Come stay with me in New York, you could finish school here. You want to leave Rose Hill after you graduate right?”</p><p><br/>“I mean that was the plan-“</p><p> </p><p>“Great, so what difference does it make if you leave now or in a year’s time?”</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t exactly afford a fancy school in New York, Tony.” Harley sighed- he hated to admit it, but it was the reality of his situation.</p><p> </p><p>“He says to the literal billionaire,” Tony deadpanned, “I know a great STEM school, you’d love Midtown. The classes would be a lot more interesting…”</p><p> </p><p>Harley’s end of the line was silent, thinking it over. Other than his mother and sister, there was nothing tying him to Rose Hill. It was a small town that didn’t deal well with anything or anyone that was bigger than itself- and Harley, as a budding scientist who was very much Not Straight<sup>TM</sup>, was larger than life.</p><p> </p><p>Harley was bored, restless, and the idea of moving in with Tony Stark and going to a STEM school- and to have all that lab equipment. It was tempting. Beyond tempting.</p><p> </p><p>“Just think about it. Talk to your mother and let me know,” Tony added</p><p> </p><p>So Harley thought about it. And he talked to his mama and to his sister and he doesn’t quite remember how exactly, but all of a sudden, he was in the elevator on the way up to the penthouse in his best jeans.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Harley is not really a nervous person by nature. He throws himself in head-first and prays to all that’s holy that he doesn’t break anything as he falls. But he’s been hearing about ‘Peter the intern’ for ages- that he was smart and funny and brilliant in just about every way. (And for <em>Tony Stark </em>to be calling a high schooler smart, he must be a genius)</p><p> </p><p>And yeah, Harley is nervous to meet this guy because he wants to get along with him, if only for Tony’s sake- because this guy is intimidating even from a couple hundred miles away, and Harley doesn’t know whether he hates him (because it’s obvious he’s closer to Tony than Harley is) or if he really wants to be friends with him (because to be honest, Harley could use some more and he sounds pretty cool).</p><p> </p><p>He feels a little inadequate as the elevator doors open on one of the most obviously expensive rooms Harley has ever seen. He just barely had a moment to let out a short exhale of surprise before Tony Stark, in all his world-wind glory, was launched upon him</p><p> </p><p>“Hey kid! How are you? How’s your mom?”</p><p> </p><p>Tony led Harley out of the elevator and into the room, grinning as he clapped him on the shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“Mama made me buy a pepper spray because she thought I was gonna get mugged. Think she’s a little bit worried about me not being at home.” Harley said a little ruefully, looking about him, suddenly very aware of his dirty and scuffed shoes. “This place is huge! I’ve got a better question to ask you, Mechanic. How many <em>floors</em> does this building have?”</p><p> </p><p>Tony rolled his eyes, “Hey Rose Hill, your country is showing. Do buildings in Rose Hill even have multiple floors?”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you leave your lab often enough to know if the buildings in New York do?”</p><p> </p><p>“Touché. And how’s Abby?”</p><p> </p><p>“Made me promise to call her every other day and text in-between. Don’t think she’ll even have time to miss me,”</p><p> </p><p>Harley loved his sister, and he hated that it felt like he was leaving her because yes, he loved his mother, but he knew Abby wanted out of that town like he did, even if she wasn’t as desperate.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s welcome here anytime,” Tony offered.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll let her know.” Harley grinned. “Can I get a tour of the place?”</p><p> </p><p>Tony showed him around, including his own room, which was down the hall.</p><p> </p><p>“We didn’t decorate because Pepper and I weren’t sure what to put in there, and we thought you might want to do it yourself- funded by me obviously. Just to make it your own.”</p><p> </p><p>Harley studiously tried to pretend there weren’t tears in his eyes at the realisation that they really wanted him here, but Tony’s soft smile told him he knew.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s this room?” Harley asked, if only to distract himself.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that’s Peter’s room. For when he stays over.”</p><p> </p><p>Harley ignored the slight twinge of jealousy, “Ah, and when do I meet the child genius?”</p><p> </p><p>“FRIDAY where’s Peter?” Tony called</p><p> </p><p>“Mr Parker is currently in the elevator,” the AI responded.</p><p> </p><p>A small <em>ding </em>resounded through the room as the elevator doors opened and a bright, laughing voice leaked out to fill the space</p><p> </p><p>“FRIDAY you know you can just call me Peter. Mr Parker sounds so old, like Mr Stark,”</p><p> </p><p>(<em>And, of course</em>, Harley thought, <em>even his voice sounds perfect.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>But why does he call Tony ‘Mr Stark’? Tony didn’t stand on formalities, especially not with the people he considered family- and it was fairly obvious that was what Peter was to him<em>)</em></p><p> </p><p>“I am not old,” Tony complained, “What is it with teenagers and telling me I’m old? Do you have no perception of time?”  </p><p> </p><p>“I’m just messing with you Mr Stark,” the voice called again as Harley and Tony made their way back down the hallway, taking on a sarcastic tone,“I would never dare to call you old, oh high and mighty one, or disrespect you in any way.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hilarious, kid, really. It’d be a lot funnier if you’d stop calling me ‘Mr Stark’. You know my name is Tony, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry does that make you <em>uncomfortable</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>Harley couldn’t help himself when he heard that very particular intonation, he had to murmur “Street Smarts!” but he thought it was quiet enough, and certainly didn’t expect the responding</p><p> </p><p>“With Detective JJ Bittenbinder!”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Tony asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. They hadn’t even met yet and he was already regretting ever bringing Harley and Peter into his vicinity at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>They finally rounded the corner and Harley just knew he was fucked.</p><p> </p><p>Because it wasn’t enough that his voice was perfect. Peter Parker had the softest brown curls he had ever seen, big, kind eyes and a smile so bright that it almost hurt to look directly at it. Peter Parker was the cutest thing he had ever seen and Harley was having a little trouble grounding his thoughts, let alone talking, when a boy like That was watching him- albeit a little nervously.  </p><p> </p><p>So Harley was completely fucked. And he was trying very hard not to show it on his face- because <em>Christ, five minutes I was jealous of him and now I’m trying to think of the best way to ask him out but not make it awkward if he says no. </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>---------------------------</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Peter would very much like to say that he had it completely together for when he heard that Mr Stark was bringing another protegee to New York.</p><p> </p><p>He did not agonise over it from the moment Tony told him. He did not try to hack into this kid’s grades only to discover that the high school didn’t keep a digital record (which <em>honestly? </em>What time loop were they stuck in?). He did not have to give himself a five-minute pep talk before he could walk into the building. Peter then absolutely did not have to call Ned and MJ because his pep talk sucked.</p><p>“But what if he’s better than me and Tony decides he actually doesn’t want me as an intern? He has known him longer.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re Spider-man Peter, you literally save cats from trees and help old ladies across the road. How is anyone better than Spider-man?” Ned asked</p><p> </p><p>Peter smiled wryly, slightly glad neither of them could see him.</p><p> </p><p>MJ chimed in, “Mr Stark won’t do that. He likes you Peter.”</p><p> </p><p>“What if we don’t get along and Tony realises he doesn’t actually like me?”</p><p> </p><p>“And what if pigs fly around the Statue of Liberty and set it on fire?”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Peter asked, confused.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, I thought we were naming impossible things,” MJ did not sound sorry.</p><p> </p><p>“Peter, dude, you don’t need to worry. Mr Stark wouldn’t just abandon you. And if he likes this guy then he’s probably ok right?”</p><p> </p><p>“He actually sounds pretty cool, Mr Stark said he was making potato guns when he met him, so I was hoping he could show me how he made those, and we could try to make a lightsaber together.” Peter grinned in spite of himself</p><p> </p><p>“Whoever this kid is will probably love you because you can geek out about SI stuff. You’re too likeable to say no to anyway,”</p><p> </p><p>“Like an excitable puppy,” Ned added wisely,</p><p> </p><p>“An excitable puppy that we will see tomorrow for all the details- or later tonight, depending on how it goes. You got this Peter,”</p><p> </p><p>“Good luck Peter!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait Ned-“</p><p> </p><p>Peter loved his friends, he really did. But their pep talks were almost worse than his own.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He strained his super-hearing to try and hear the conversations in the building around him, but he couldn’t refine it down to just the penthouse. Peter knew he was overthinking it- but every time Tony talked about ‘Harley from Tennessee’, he sounded so proud. Peter wanted to make a good impression and he didn’t want to give away that he was Spider-man and he really wanted to be sure that everything was going to be fine.</p><p> </p><p>Then the doors were sliding open and Peter bantered with Mr Stark as they came down the hall and somehow Peter found himself face to face with the hottest boy he had seen in his life. He felt a slight blush rise to his cheeks as he took in (who he assumed to be) Harley, and his bright blue eyes and his tanned skin and his golden, mussed hair that was just on the side of disarray.</p><p> </p><p>(And in that moment, he has never been so glad that no one else has super-hearing because the way he’s sure his heart stuttered and then sped up in his chest was embarrassing)</p><p> </p><p>“Hi, I’m Peter. Parker. It’s nice to meet you- Harley I assume?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh yeah, howdy. Nice to meet you, I’m Harley Keener,”</p><p> </p><p>He held out his hand to shake and Peter just about melted on the spot because <em>he had a southern accent, how was it fair that he had dimples and nice hair and a cute smile with a devilish edge to it </em>and<em> a southern accent?  </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>Peter cast around desperately for another conversation topic- other than the few that were crowding his mind like ‘<em>Oh my god you have an accent,’, ‘Are you single</em>?’ and ‘<em>What are you thinking when you look at me like that?’ </em></p><p> </p><p>Because Harley was watching him with a small smirk, as Peter avoided looking directly at him and looked as if had he been wearing a sweater, he would have pulled it over his hands, but as it was, he settled for shoving his hands in his pockets and fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt.</p><p> </p><p>“Have you got one?”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Peter was startled out of his thoughts by Harley’s question.</p><p> </p><p>Harley pointed to Peter’s shirt which read ‘<em>I tell bad chemistry jokes because all the good ones Argon’</em>. The exact moment Peter realised that Harley was referencing the dumb pun on his shirt was, to Tony, objectively hilarious. It looked as if a little part of his soul had died. This kid was an awkward disaster as he laughed self-consciously,</p><p> </p><p>“Have you heard about that great new book on helium? I couldn’t put it down!”</p><p> </p><p>Harley laughed as he grinned. Peter’s eyes lit up at his reaction and his enthusiasm was contagious as he fired off another one</p><p> </p><p>“Why are chemists great at solving problems? Because they always have a solution!”</p><p> </p><p>Tony sighed, he knew Peter could go for hours on these puns. Harley looked like he had struck gold as Peter practically radiated delight</p><p> </p><p>“So chemistry huh?”  Harley asked</p><p> </p><p>“I mean I do biology and physics as well but chemistry is really where I’m in my element,”</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve unleashed a monster, Keener,” Tony groaned but they both ignored him</p><p> </p><p>“What about you? Tony said you like building stuff-“</p><p> </p><p>“He told you about the potato guns, didn’t he?” When Peter nodded, Harley gave him a self-depreciating grin, “I’m not all that fancy, I’m just a mechanic.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter doubted very much that he was ‘just’ a mechanic. With the glowing recommendation that Mr Stark gave, Peter was sure that he was just like Tony.</p><p> </p><p>And why was it that the thought of it didn’t scare Peter anymore?</p><p> </p><p>---------------------------</p><p> </p><p>“Ok guys new plan. Harley is coming to Midtown and I need you both to pretend like I haven’t been freaking out about him coming to New York since I heard about it.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter threw himself through the air, webbing to a building as he swung in another arc through the air. He’d just barely managed to keep it together in the lab with Harley for a few minutes before he’d hinted that he had ‘somewhere to be’ and Tony sent him off, with a look on his face that very obviously told him to be careful.</p><p> </p><p>Patrol was pretty quiet today, so Peter called MJ and Ned to fill them in</p><p> </p><p>“What happened dude? What was he like?”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s hot, isn’t he,” MJ said knowingly</p><p> </p><p>“Like ridiculously good looking,” Peter admitted, slightly annoyed. </p><p> </p><p>“How long before you turn into Disaster Parker?”</p><p> </p><p>“He asked about my shirt MJ,” Peter whined slightly as he went for another lap of the block</p><p> </p><p>“Hey the one you were wearing today was pretty-“ Ned began</p><p> </p><p>“If you say punny, I will not forgive you,” MJ interrupted.</p><p> </p><p>Peter was still in panic mode, “He’s really smart and he’s funny and what do I do?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well I’m going to bet that it’ll take two weeks before you confess, and you’ll do it accidentally because he’ll found out about Spider-man, but you think he’s talking about your crush.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, he’ll do it a week in because everyone will have found out and he doesn’t want Mr Stark to spill the beans.”</p><p> </p><p>“You both are not reassuring at all. And guys, give me a little bit of credit. I’ll probably tell him I love him and then jump out the window because I panicked.”</p><p> </p><p>---------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Coming into Midtown after the luxury of the Rose Hill High education was like getting into an ice bath.</p><p> </p><p>The shock of actually having to pay attention in class was more than enough to keep Harley fully occupied, at least until lunch. But standing in the cafeteria, Harley realised he hadn’t actually talked to many people in his classes because he got distracted by the coursework. Now though, his options were slim- either he was going to have to sit on his own or go to the library, neither of which sounded good.</p><p> </p><p>Harley was pausing, and he was weighing up his options when he heard a familiar voice</p><p> </p><p>“Harley! Hey I’ve been looking all over for you, if you want, you can come and sit with me and my friends?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’d love to darlin’,”</p><p> </p><p>Peter spun about quickly so Harley couldn’t see he just about swooned at that, and started moving through the crowd, calling over his shoulder</p><p> </p><p>“Follow me,”</p><p> </p><p>Harley grinned and tried to follow Peter- but he couldn’t exactly, because Peter danced thorough the gaps in the crowd like some sort of gymnast, already anticipating the steps of everyone else and moving around them. He lost him for a second and when he caught sight of Peter again, it looked like he was making wild motions to a slightly concerned but smiling boy and a girl who seemed aloof but was smirking broadly.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey there, I’m Harley. You must be Peter’s friends?”</p><p> </p><p>The girl raised her eyebrows and the guy shot a look at Peter, but when Harley looked at him Peter was death-staring both of them</p><p> </p><p>“Harley, this is my best friend Ned and my other best friend Michelle, who is currently refusing to talk to us at lunch because we distract her from reading ‘<em>Wuthering Heights</em>’ for the hundredth time.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter was internally begging his friends not to rat him out- the knowing looks they had sent him when they heard his accent had been enough and he was hoping Harley couldn’t tell just how badly Peter was trying not to seem like a disaster. Harley, meanwhile, was making friends.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>’Wuthering Heights’</em>? A favourite of yours? Personally, I found it pretty creepy, but I guess the gothic isn’t for everyone. Didn’t make me want to kick Heathcliff’s ass any less though.”</p><p> </p><p>She appraised him and then gave him a small grin, as she shifted her tray over to make room for him. “You can call me MJ.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter and Ned were doing wonderful impressions of fish out of water.</p><p> </p><p>“It took us years-“</p><p> </p><p>“Michelle to MJ in five seconds-“</p><p> </p><p>“-monumentally unfair-“</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, if you guys had read ‘<em>Wuthering Heights’</em>, we might have bonded a lot faster.” She shrugged</p><p> </p><p>Peter laughed and smiled at Harley, “Michelle only lets her friends call her MJ. You’re stuck with us for ever now,”</p><p> </p><p>Harley smiled back- and he wondered if Peter could tell he was thinking that he wouldn’t mind being stuck with him for ever.</p><p> </p><p>---------------------------</p><p> </p><p>“Abby, he wears science t-shirts with puns on them,”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god, you are so soft for dorks,” His little sister sounded far too delighted at Harley’s dilemma</p><p> </p><p>“I’m meant to be going to the same school and working with him for the rest of the year! I can’t exactly do that if I’m distracted by literally anything Peter does!”</p><p> </p><p> “You’re hopeless,”</p><p> </p><p>And Harley didn’t think he cared.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>From there, it was hard to say when Harley was certain that he lost his heart to Peter Parker. Maybe it was when he heard Peter sassing Tony or maybe it was when he got excited about the project they were working on in the lab or maybe it was when he showed up in a hoodie two sizes too big that swamped his figure, or maybe it was when Peter told him that he was Spider-man and Harley could only think <em>of course </em>because who else would be selfless enough to think they owed the world anything when they were barely fifteen.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe it was when he found Peter crying on the anniversary of Ben’s death and Harley comforted him or when Peter did the same to him when the homesickness hit hard and it felt like he didn’t belong anywhere.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe it was when Harley found out Peter Parker let himself get bullied by an ass like Flash so someone else wouldn’t or maybe it was when Harley realised that there wasn’t anyone who he thought was kinder, was braver, was smarter, was <em>better </em>than Peter Parker.</p><p> </p><p>Harley Keener doesn’t know how long it took for him to fall in love with Peter Parker but he sure as hell knows that he loves him a lot more than he knows how to say.</p><p> </p><p>---------------------------</p><p> </p><p>There’s a lot of things Peter would like to tell people.</p><p> </p><p>He’d like to tell Flash to shove it. He’d like to tell his teachers that he appreciates their effort, but he already knows the content. He’d like to tell the government that a lot of the people he catches- like harassers, stalkers or rapists- don’t end up with anything even going on their record. He’d like to tell whoever keeps asking that <em>no, Spider-man is not a furry. </em></p><p> </p><p>There are some things Peter wouldn’t like to tell anyone.</p><p> </p><p>He’d like not to keep accidentally telling people he’s Spider-man. He’d like not to tell keep telling people secrets accidentally, <em>period</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Because if there’s anything he <em>really </em>doesn’t want to tell anyone is that he’s in love with Harley Keener.</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, he is really easy to read and so from the moment Harley opened his mouth and spoke in a <em>southern </em>accent, MJ and Ned were waiting for Peter to confess that he had a crush on him. May could tell from the as soon as Peter got home, and Tony was laughing his ass off when he heard the kid’s name.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>So, he was kind of really freaking out about whether he was going to tell Harley himself unintentionally or unwittingly (or wittingly, he wouldn’t put it past them to get him to stop pining) one of his friends would expose him.</p><p> </p><p>And when Harley grinned at him with that smirk that was a little bit smug but smart and happy and with a twinkle in his eyes as if they were sharing a joke that no one else knew but them, Peter felt a fire ignite in his veins and a blush to burn at his cheeks. The way his brain worked made Peter grin and the way he talked about his mama and sister was adorable. And Peter knew it was too much to ask but he really just wanted to take Harley’s hand in his own and laugh with him and kiss him and tell him every day just how much he loved him.</p><p> </p><p>Because Harley might seem to put up a good mask but when you got to know him, it was easy to see between the cracks. Harley Keener had been telling himself for his whole life that he was good enough and that he would make it- but sometimes, hearing it from yourself isn’t enough. Not when everyone else is fighting tooth and nail to prove that they’re the best and you still feel like a lost kid from Rose Hill that maybe never should have left.</p><p> </p><p>When Peter realised this, that was when he started taking the pictures.</p><p> </p><p>He’d found Ben’s camera in amongst all his old things when he was feeling nostalgic one day and Peter was fixing it up in the lab when Harley started blasting ‘Jailhouse Rock’. Harley just looked so happy- dancing and shooting Peter winks- that he snapped a photo.</p><p> </p><p>“Your Tennessee is showing <em>darling</em>,” Peter called, purposefully doing a horrible southern twang on the last word.</p><p> </p><p>“Ok, Memphis and Rose Hill are <em>very different places. </em>Elvis was born in Mississippi anyway,”</p><p> </p><p>“You seem to know an awful lot about a guy you claim didn’t grow up in your state,” Peter sang</p><p> </p><p>“There’s not a whole lot goin’ on in Tennessee, if anyone famous has ever even put a toe in the state, we learned all about ‘em.” Harley joked</p><p> </p><p>And when Peter looked back at the photo, he couldn’t help but think Harley looked rather beautiful when he was dancing like that.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The next few were spontaneous like that, and then Peter realised he couldn’t lie to himself that his eyes were drawn to Harley and that he was simply too photogenic for Peter to not photograph. He took photos of the sunsets on patrol and the city as well, but Harley was his muse that Peter found impossible to resist.</p><p> </p><p>Peter didn’t think he’d ever show them to Harley- to anyone really- but then one day Harley said something about how he was a terrible dancer and Peter couldn’t let it pass. So he printed out the picture and slipped it in his locker having written on the back, ‘<em>You’re the best dancer I’ve ever seen’ </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>And it felt- good actually. To tell Harley how he felt. So Peter just… didn’t stop.</p><p> </p><p>---------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Harley had no idea how whoever was taking pictures of him made him look good, or how they knew how to make his insides warm for the rest of the day. Maybe he should have been nervous about who they were, but it was nice and Harley looked forward to the little notes with the pictures.</p><p> </p><p>Another one fell out of his locker on Wednesday, of him on the phone, eyes looking away as he laughed, and the caption was <em>‘I think the way you love your little sister is sweet’ </em></p><p> </p><p>A black and white picture of him in class looking out the window- ‘<em>I wonder what you think about so seriously when you look like you’re a million miles away’. </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>‘<em>Sometimes I wonder if you know just how smart you are. I can’t wait to see you change the world- because how could you be anything other than a game changer?’ </em>came with a photo from the library, Harley bent over a book and a slight frown of concentration painting his face.</p><p> </p><p>‘<em>You’re more beautiful than I think I have words to describe’ </em>was on the back of one where Harley was simply lying back, eyes closed and a peaceful face.</p><p> </p><p>(And dammit if that didn’t make him a little giddy because <em>boys never get called beautiful and it was just nice to hear it for once</em>, <em>especially with a picture showing him to be so </em>normal <em>as if he didn’t need to change anything about himself because he was already beautiful) </em></p><p> </p><p>‘<em>Darling</em>, <em>I think I might just be in love with you’ </em>and that one was with a photo of Harley looking dead-on at the camera, grinning widely at whoever the photographer was.</p><p> </p><p>In all of these pictures, Harley wasn’t looking at the camera. Except in that last one. He didn’t remember any of the photos being taken- it really could have been anybody since almost everyone had a phone with a camera. So it was really pissing Harley off that it could be anyone since he really wanted to either thank them profusely or politely tell them to fuck off because he was in love with someone else.</p><p> </p><p>He huffed as he slammed the door shut to his locker.</p><p> </p><p>“Woah, what’s got you in all worked up?” Peter appeared at Harley’s shoulder</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t figure out who’s sending me these photos. If they had the <em>common decency </em>to leave a name then I could track them down, but instead they just keep slipping them in there,” Harley complained lightly. He was actually annoyed, but Peter had a way of making it all seem to disappear- or maybe just feel lighter to bear.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yes, don’t they know they’ve offended your southern sensibilities! How are you meant to return a thank you note if you can’t find out who it is?” Peter asked mock-seriously, internally trying to keep the anxiety rising in him quelled.</p><p> </p><p>“I actually kind of want to tell them to stop since I’m in love with somebody,” Harley murmured- forgetting about Peter’s enhanced hearing.</p><p> </p><p>Peter’s heart dropped. A pit of despair opened up in his gut and he felt a little like crying <em>which was stupid because he didn’t have a shot in hell with Harley anyway, so why did it hurt so much to know it for sure? </em></p><p> </p><p>“Are they making you uncomfortable?” Peter asked, carefully keeping his gaze away from Harley’s face.</p><p> </p><p>Harley startled and his mind moved quickly. <em>Shit, he had given away too much. </em>He hoped Peter wouldn’t ask him who it was, because Harley was kind of a shit liar.</p><p>
  
</p><p>He scrutinised Peter, though he refused to meet his gaze. “No. They’re all really nice actually. I just feel bad leading someone on, you know?”</p><p> </p><p>Peter managed to conjure up a weak smile before the bell rang, thankfully saving him from needing to continue this conversation.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry Harley, I’ve got Chem and my teacher will kill me if I’m late!”</p><p> </p><p><em>What did I say, </em>Harley wondered, <em>that made him run away? Does he know I’m talking about him? And that makes HIM uncomfortable?</em></p><p>
  
</p><p><em>So he loves someone else, </em>Peter thought, <em>that’s fine. I’m fine. Everything’s fine. </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>-------------------------------</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Everything was not fine.</p><p> </p><p>Peter was avoiding him, and Harley wanted to know why. He missed Harley’s calls, answered briefly the texts he sent Peter about if he was ok after patrol and at school he seemed to dodge out of Harley’s sight whenever they were even in the same hallway.</p><p> </p><p>Harley Keener was stubborn, but he wasn’t stupid. If Peter didn’t want to talk to him, then Harley had probably done something to fuck it up- like he always does. So at lunch, he quickly sought out Ned and MJ, but there was a third member that Harley was not expecting to see considering how the day was going.</p><p> </p><p>“Peter, hey, haven’t seen you all day,” Harley mentioned as he slid into the chair next to him.</p><p> </p><p>Peter seemed to be practically shoving food in his mouth, rising as he said in muffled sort of way, “Sorry, got a proj’t… gotta work on in lib’ry. See ‘ou later tho’,”</p><p> </p><p>And he was gone in a flash, leaving so fast that they couldn’t point out that he left some of his stuff behind. Harley turned to appeal to Ned and MJ</p><p> </p><p>“Surely I didn’t imagine that, him practically teleporting himself across the room rather than being within five feet of me.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s just Peter,” Ned tried to casually dismiss, but he was a bad liar and Harley’s <em>no bullshit raised eyebrow </em>did enough to dispel his weak hand gestures.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you guys know why Peter is avoiding me?”</p><p> </p><p>MJ seemed to have no such qualms about telling Harley, “I mean technically, not really. But I think I could take a pretty good guess.”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t say any more and Harley burst out,</p><p> </p><p>“Can you tell me?”</p><p> </p><p>“I think it would be better for everyone if you just take Peter’s camera back to him, since he left it here,” MJ responded with a small grin, shoving the camera towards him.</p><p> </p><p>“What does that have to do with <em>anything</em>?” Harley asked. Usually he would take this opportunity to be sarcastic, but he legitimately had no idea what was going on and was scared that he might lose Peter.</p><p> </p><p>Ned grinned at him, sharing a look with MJ at his question.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll see,”</p><p> </p><p>So Harley took the camera, muttering about ‘<em>cryptic friends’</em> and trying to remember Peter’s schedule. Annoyingly enough, they didn’t have any more crossover today. So Harley was going to have to <em>make </em>a crossover.</p><p> </p><p>--------------------</p><p> </p><p>Swinging home from patrol, Peter found himself wishing he’d brought his camera. It was a beautiful sunset and the city lit itself up in a way that only New York could- bright and breathing and living, glittering just as surely as the constellations above them. The roads looked like rivers from above, running with the liquid light of car headlights.</p><p> </p><p>Unfortunately, he had left it at lunch when he made a speedy escape so that he wouldn’t accidentally out himself to Harley. On texting Ned and MJ to beg them to pick it up for him, he found that they both seemed to find it hilarious for some reason, but they did promise that the camera would find itself back in his possession.</p><p> </p><p>Hindsight would tell him that he really should have been more cautious of the wording, but Peter was just relieved to hear that it hadn’t been lost and had then got caught up in patrol to worry about it.</p><p> </p><p>(He also found that it was a good distraction from thinking about Harley and how he was in love with someone- and how could Peter not have noticed- and how Peter was never anywhere near good enough for him, and he had made him uncomfortable with the photos.</p><p> </p><p>Because Peter definitely wasn’t still agonising over that encounter in excruciating detail. Because that would be sad. Really, <em>really </em>sad.)</p><p> </p><p>So Peter was a little preoccupied as he swung home, crawling into his room and somehow not noticing the boy struggling between being irate and delighted sitting beneath him.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When MJ and Ned told Harley to take back the camera, they had told him to check that the memory card was still in it. Harley doesn’t know why it would be out of the camera, but he really doesn’t know much about photography except that Peter sometimes takes pictures of the city, so he takes their advice and checks that it’s there.</p><p> </p><p>It is. And so are a bunch of photos that Harley has never seen. A few of MJ, some of Ned and ones that look like they’ve been taken from death-defying heights that Harley doesn’t even want to <em>think </em>about how Peter got them.</p><p> </p><p>And then there are ones of Harley. A few that he remembered taking when Peter playfully turned the camera on all of them. But then there are a heap he doesn’t remember- candid ones of him laughing, smiling, looking bored or sarcastic or a little wistful.</p><p> </p><p>And in amongst them are ones he’s seen before. In the lab, in the library, at lunch, on the sports fields, but he remembers them not by their locations but the sweet words that accompanied them. How the hell did he manage to get so many where Harley wasn’t paying attention? And somehow make him look gorgeous but also like him, like Harley, the bored and sarcastic, from Tennessee and the New York Harley, with unlimited lab time and a mind more stimulated than it’s ever been.</p><p> </p><p>His hands shake slightly as he flips from one photo to the next on the digital camera, recognising photos, recognising moments, and elation fills him as his brain takes an embarrassingly long time to catch up.</p><p> </p><p><em>Peter </em>was the one taking the photos. <em>Peter </em>was the one who had put them in his locker. Which meant that <em>Peter </em>was the one who thought he was in love with him.</p><p> </p><p>Which meant that jackass knew Harley was trying to figure out who he was and <em>Peter </em>had sat on his hands.</p><p> </p><p>Harley took the subway to Queens and let himself into Peter’s apartment- he knew where they kept the key and he had been a guest often enough to know he was welcome there any time. So Harley waited in Peter’s room until he got home from patrol, and by then, he had half formulated a speech to lecture him and tell him ‘<em>I’m in love with </em>you<em>, you idiot.’ </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>But when Peter crawled in on the ceiling, all that just about flew out the window that Peter just came through.</p><p> </p><p>“Hiya there Pete,” he said with false cheer.</p><p> </p><p>Peter practically fell off the ceiling in surprise and upon seeing it was Harley, he thought he was just about done for. Then he made out the camera in Harley’s hands and he <em>knew </em>that he was screwed.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, hi Harley.” He responded, as he dropped from the roof, trying to think of ways to distract him and get the camera back so they could just have this conversation <em>never instead, would never work for you? </em></p><p> </p><p>“You left this at lunch,” he said, putting the camera onto Peter’s desk.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh hey, thanks for bringing that over. I was just in a real hurry because of this project I have due in this subject I’m not doing too well in-“</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah?” Harley asked, seemingly curious, “I didn’t know you were taking bullshitting this semester Peter, but I can tell you’re not doing too well. You suck at lying.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter protested, “Hey, I’m Spider-man! I’ve got a whole alter-ego that I kept a secret!”</p><p> </p><p>“More by luck than anything else, I’ll wager. Good try at switching the topic though. Why are you avoiding me?” Harley redirected.</p><p> </p><p>“If you’ve got my camera then you already know,” Peter sighed, “So do we really need to talk about it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. So start talkin’.”</p><p> </p><p>“Look I get it ok? I get that you’re in love with someone else and obviously that’s fine since I don’t have any claim to stake on your affections but Jesus, Harley. It <em>hurts</em>, even if I knew you’d never want me, it hurts that you want someone else.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?” Harley asked simply. He had to be sure. He had to know what Peter felt before he could dive in.</p><p> </p><p>“Why? Because I love you. I love you Harley and I’ve been telling you in the way I know how to. I took pictures of you when you were just being Harley because everything about you is so <em>interesting </em>and I don’t want to miss a second of seeing you. And when you said that you were a bad dancer, I just wanted to show you how I see you. Because Harley Keener, you’re the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen and for you not to know that is a crime if I’ve ever seen one.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter ran out of breath. He dropped his mask on the desk as he messed up his hair with his hand, but he didn’t look away from Harley. He had to know that Peter was serious. The disbelief in Harley’s eyes was as clear as it was that they were the shade of the sky on a bright summer day.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you- darling, I’m going to need you to really spell it out for me.”</p><p> </p><p>Peter didn’t know what that meant. It sounded like- dear god, he hoped he wasn’t wrong when he said it sounded like <em>hope. </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>“Harley Keener, you’re gorgeous and smart and sarcastic and stubborn and I’m in love with you. And you’re in love with-“</p><p> </p><p>“You. I’m in love with you Peter Parker.”</p><p> </p><p>The whole world just about stopped. Peter’s breath caught as he looked into Harley’s eyes, trying to tell if he was being honest.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait so you mean-“</p><p> </p><p>“Peter, darlin’, much as I love it when you talk, I’ve got somethin’ else I’d like to be doing that I’ve wanted to do for a while,” Harley said with a grin, moving towards Peter</p><p> </p><p>And when they kissed, it was warm and tender and all the feelings they’d been feeling wrapped into one kiss, one moment. And Harley somehow felt as if a piece of his future was slotting into place, as if he was finally free from the melancholy that had been dragging him down for years, like he was coming home to New York. And Peter felt a little like he was flying through the air again, blood singing but heart content in the way that he knew there was no where else he would rather be.</p><p> </p><p>So maybe Harley Keener wasn’t ok and maybe Peter Parker wasn’t ok either. And maybe neither of them cared, because together, they found a new way to be ok.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“You know if you had just left your name-“ Harley began</p><p> </p><p>Peter pouted lightly, “But where’s the fun in that? You figured it out eventually anyway,”</p><p> </p><p>“With heavy help from Ned and MJ,” Harley added</p><p> </p><p>There was a pause and then Peter realised, “We were all wrong. I wonder who won the bet,”</p><p> </p><p>“What bet?”</p><p> </p><p>“The bet about how I would accidentally confess,”</p><p> </p><p>Harley grinned, unsurprised that there was such a bet and that Peter had known about it, “I think Tony won actually. He had money on me confronting you over something stupid and we’d end up kissing.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re not going to tell Tony he was right, are we?”</p><p> </p><p>“’Course not. Where would the fun in that be?”</p><p> </p><p>They both laughed. They knew Tony would find out soon enough, and neither would have it any other way. Peter grinned at his boyfriend and slipped his hand into Harley’s.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Harley?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p> </p><p>“I love you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I love you too Peter.”</p><p> </p>
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